ALEIX ESPARGARÓ'S RECOVERY CONTINUES

ALEIX ESPARGARÓ'S RECOVERY CONTINUES

THE SPANISH RIDER WILL BE IN THE SADDLE OF THE NEW Aprilia RS-GP FOR THE FIRST TESTS OF 2018 IN SEPANG

Aleix Espargaró continues to recover from the injury to his left hand (fracture to the fourth metacarpus and his pinky finger) that he suffered after a crash during the Phillip Island race. After undergoing surgery with the insertion of a metal plate and screws, Aleix returned to the track for the final round of the season in Valencia and for the subsequent tests on the Spanish circuit. After the stress of the long weekend on the Ricardo Tormo circuit, as a precaution, Espargaró skipped the three days of tests at Jerez which closed out the 2017 season for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

Aleix's training programme foresees an increase of stress to the injured hand during the month of December, with the goal of reaching good physical fitness for the first tests of 2018 in Sepang, scheduled from 28 through 30 January. At that time, he will be on the new Aprilia RS-GP, the evolution of a project that demonstrated constant and promising growth during its second year in action.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'

"My injured hand is healing well. The weekend in Valencia was demanding and we also had two rather important days of testing right after the race. At the moment I am only training on the road with my bicycle, but the idea is to begin a bit of offroad at the end of the year. At that time, we'll be able to test the real conditions of my hand. I want to be in the best possible physical conditions after the break. I can't wait to get back in the saddle of the RS-GP for the Sepang tests."